Associação Académica de Coimbra

The Associação Académica de Coimbra (AAC) is the students' union of the University of Coimbra. Founded in Coimbra on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal. It is also the biggest students' union in Portugal, belonging to an independent sole institution. It represents all the students of all the faculties of its University of Coimbra. The other similar students' unions in the country, being of a comparable dimension and importance, are usually smaller students' unions, faculty, institute or school organizations, or otherwise, federations of students' unions from diverse public, private, university and polytechnic independent and not related institutions.

AAC has several sports branches based in Coimbra, all of them performing under the same name and logo, and using the same black colors, being effectively one of the largest sports clubs of Portugal. The Académica de Coimbra autonomous professional football team is one of its most well known and recognized sports branches.

Organization

The AAC is governed by a "D.G. - Direcção Geral" (General Direction) composed exclusively by students of the University of Coimbra, who are democratically elected through yearly elections open to all students.

The complex which houses the Academic Association was inaugurated in 1961 and includes a building where the offices of many sports sections (secções desportivas) and cultural sections (secções culturais) are to be found, as well as rehearsal halls, a medical centre, academic services, extensive gardens in the interior, a theatre-cinema (of approximately 1,000 seats) and a restaurant area serving a large part of the student population. AAC is also the mother institution for some autonomous organisations (organismos autónomos).

Some of the most noted former members of its governing body, and other active participants throughout AAC's history, include Salgado Zenha, Manuel Alegre, António de Almeida Santos, Miguel Torga, António Nobre, Vergílio Ferreira, Zeca Afonso, and Adriano Correia de Oliveira.

Sports Sections

Many sport teams and athletes of the AAC sport sections have a great competitiveness and are present regularly in some of the main sport leagues and tournaments in the country and abroad. The AAC sport sections play and have many of their training sessions in the University Stadium and Sports Complex of the University of Coimbra located in the Santa Clara area of the city, in the southern bank of Mondego river.

AAC's sports sections include:

Cultural Sections

Among the cultural sections of AAC, the university radio of Coimbra is known for its irreverency, youth flavour, vanguardism and independence. All the cultural sections of AAC are open to the entire society, promoting respected events, workshops and courses, both for students and the city community.

AAC's cultural sections include:

Radio - Rádio Universidade de Coimbra
Television - TV-AAC
Cinematography - Centro de Estudos Cinematográficos
Informatics
Fado de Coimbra music
Journalism - A Cabra (university newspaper)
Astronomy
Yoga
Philately
Portuguese language and culture divulgation
Writing and Reading
Student SOS - Phone line to support and help students with any kind of personal problems
Ecology
Human rights
Gastronomy

Autonomous Organisations

Besides the sports and cultural sections of AAC, there are also some autonomous organisations inside the institution - the Organismos Autónomos. It is the case of the main football team of the AAC, usually known as "Académica" or "Briosa", which plays in the top Portuguese football leagues. Nowadays, it is a professional football club, born within the AAC and incorporated legally inside AAC as an autonomous entity, so the formal connection with it is loose. AAC football team was the first winner in the history of the Portuguese Football Cup, in 1939. Among the autonomous organisations of AAC are also notable theatre companies with a vast curricula of acclaimed performances, and a tremendous impact in the city cultural life.

AAC's autonomous organisations include:

Professional football team - Académica (AAC/OAF)
Theatre - TEUC and CITAC
Plastic arts - Círculo de Artes Plásticas de Coimbra
Choral music - Coro Misto da Universidade de Coimbra and Orfeon Académico de Coimbra
Folk music and Ethnography - Grupo de Etnografia e Folclore da Academia de Coimbra
Music - Tuna Académica da Universidade de Coimbra

Events

The AAC is also responsible for the organization of the Queima das Fitas, one of the biggest student parties in Europe and a great event in the city. The Festa das Latas, a smaller event which is a reception to the freshmen of the University of Coimbra, is also a AAC's festival.

The Symbol

Before the current logo, the AAC used to be represented by a black cape of the traditional university suit. The AAC's logo was created by Fernando Pimentel in 1927 by an order of the AAC's Direcção Geral. The logo of AAC has a stylized drawing of the University Tower.

The Tower of Coimbra University is the city's «ex-libris» and with it bell, it is known among the students as the cabra (she-goat). It is a Baroque construction, from the school of the Italian architect Ludovice, built between 1728 and 1733. It is almost 109 ft high, and a narrow and circular staircase leads to a belvedere with an unmatched and dazzling view over the University and all the city.

External links

Associação Académica de Coimbra (AAC) (in Portuguese)
Rádio Universidade de Coimbra (RUC) (in Portuguese)
Teatro dos Estudantes da Universidade de Coimbra (students theatre)
TV-AAC (television)
A Cabra (university students newspaper)
Universidade de Coimbra